Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 2:59 pm on 28 June 2005.
Lord Livsey of Talgarth
Spokesperson in the Lords, Welsh Affairs, Spokesperson in the Lords (Agriculture), Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
2:59,
28 June 2005
My Lords, I declare an interest as the former MP for Brecon and Radnorshire. Would the Minister take note of the fact that I received a petition in the House of Lords late last year, which was signed by 3,000 residents, in favour of rebuilding the court in Llandrindod Wells? It is vital that there is access to justice in the county of Radnorshire, which is the most sparsely populated area south of the Highland line. The county of Powys is 132 miles long, and access is extremely difficult. I hope that she and her noble and learned friend will exert some influence to ensure that the PFI goes ahead in this relationship with Llandrindod Wells court.
The house of Lords is the upper chamber of the Houses of Parliament. It is filled with Lords (I.E. Lords, Dukes, Baron/esses, Earls, Marquis/esses, Viscounts, Count/esses, etc.) The Lords consider proposals from the EU or from the commons. They can then reject a bill, accept it, or make amendments. If a bill is rejected, the commons can send it back to the lords for re-discussion. The Lords cannot stop a bill for longer than one parliamentary session. If a bill is accepted, it is forwarded to the Queen, who will then sign it and make it law. If a bill is amended, the amended bill is sent back to the House of Commons for discussion.
The Lords are not elected; they are appointed. Lords can take a "whip", that is to say, they can choose a party to represent. Currently, most Peers are Conservative.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
